I had my first event photo shoot last night. The event was for a non profit that I’ve been volunteering for called Step It Up, Inc. It was held at Elephant’s Deli on 23rd and NW Burnside.
Capturing the faces and event was a bit challenging because of the night time, indoor, low lighting. I think I was able to grab a few.
It’s funny how I once was a ham in front of the camera, now I’m a geek behind the camera. Love it!
I’ve been told that after a few months into the Oregon rain season everyone basically turns into ducks. I have heard from a lot of people that the rain seriously never goes away until May or June. This scares me in a way. But, on the other hand, I’ve lived in wet climates previous to Portland. They haven’t been as wet as Portland, but I’ve experienced the duck-syndrome.
I am commited to seeing the silver lining during this season. Cuz, I’ve got to tell you the Spring and Summer here are friggen fabulous!
I can’t get enough of the skyline these days. This storm passing through has been incredible to watch. If you didn’t already know, I have a fascination with the sky; the clouds and the shapes that it creates. I think this bike scene is the epitome of the lifestyle and culture that Portland embraces.
I think I’ve made a real storm chaser of myself.
I’ve been trying to capture this storm that is passing through the west coast. This shot was taken looking east fom the city of portland, oregon. Just about mid-center of this photo is Mt. Hood. By the looks of the clouds over Mt. Hood, it’s getting some serious weathering over there!
This shot was taken looking west – into the city of portland – over Hawthorne. 
The acorn squash that I made last night turned out pretty good. I do have to say that if you’re looking to make a meal that is *packed* with fiber, then I’d highly recommend acorn squash.
In September, while touring my mom throughout Portland we stumbled upon two monks from the Mangyal Monastery (home of the Dalai Lama) – who were creating a Compassion sand mandala for 2 days at a store in the pearl district called Cargo. The Venerable Ngawang Chojor (on the left), is a senior monk who apparently was in Seven Years In Tibet with Brad Pitt. What I found most amazing is that once this mandala was finished, there was going to be a dismantling ceremony as a metaphor for impermanence of all things. It is believed that witnessing the creation of a mandala develops ties within the people in attendance and that it also strengthens community.
Have you ever witnessed a mandala being created?
I stumbled upon this sweet neighborhood rose garden yesterday. The garden had almost every color and variety of roses planted. All were in perfect bloom. It’s no wonder the city of roses is so serious about the flowers. They are truly gorgeous!
I am thankful for all of this free time that I have right now. I feel like my life has transformed once again; doing yoga, volunteering my skills to a local non profit, click click clicking at everything I see. This time has given me the chance to slow down. I look for and appreciate the beauty in every moment I breathe. Kinda like witnessing the sunrise this morning after dropping Kari off at work.
I am thankful that I have the opportunity to make smart decisions for myself without being so hasty all the time.
And there I was with Sprina and her mom hitching a ride across town to where my car was parked at the Step It Up, Inc. office. Just as we turned the corner – just a couple of blocks from the parking lot we drove over a metal plate and Sprina’s left front tire busted flat. We carefully pulled over to an open parking lot. The three of us women got out of the car to check the tire. Yep, it’s flat. As if we all knew how to change a tire we walked to the trunk and started to pull out the spare and the flat kit. As if we had any idea how to prop the car up or to use the jack – we sure tried. As if there was anyone else in sight to help – there wasn’t. We each took turns trying to prop up the front end, crank it up. Crank it up. Nope. We sure didn’t know how. I heard Sprina’s mom call to someone in what seemed to be the darkness of the night. “Excuse me, honey. Can you help us here. You see, we’ve got a flat and we’re trying to fix it. Can you help?”
I looked over and this little ole man – a security guard for the tall building we were parked next to had walked around from the other side of the building. His name was Dean. He confidently explained that he was the last person to try-n-fix a flat tire but he was sure he’d try. Dean was able to crank the car up half way until the jack fell over and the car rolled out from under. “This is going to be a long night.” I thought to myself. With all of his might and confidence Dean was finally able to jack the car up, pop off the old tire and swiftly assemble the new tire to the car. Phew. We all stood up and sung his praise, “You’re an angel! You’re an Angel!” Dean looked at the three of us with an awww shucks kind of expression and said, “I’m still working at my age. I aint gonna retire until the day someone throws dirt over my face.”
What a moving experience I had being part of a team like that and witnessing someone helping at the time of need.
I have a new found obsession. My obsession is with the views of Mt. Hood. I feel so lucky that almost anywhere I go in Portland it is almost guaranteed that I’ll have a perfect view of Mt. Hood. I can’t seem to get enough of how enormous is it. And, dare I also say peaceful? I’ve noticed that since the season has turned to Fall that there has been recent snowfall over Mt. Hood which inevitably creates a brighter, whiter – more distinct cascade over the eastern side of Portland.
Maybe Mt. Hood is also a new representation of where I consider to be my place of home. It’s quite comforting.
It seems that there are iron rings tied to the sidewalks in certain neighborhoods throughout Portland. On any given block you could see up to 10 rings placed along the edges of the sidewalks in Portland. During a walk through a Mt. Tabor neighborhood this summer in Portland, I met an ol man who explained that back in the days city folk would use the rings to tie up their horses so they could patronize the local businesses. He even went to explain that during a recent street construction project – a neighborhood group rallied around all of the iron rings and demanded that if the city construction crews removed them that they would have to replace the rings in order to preserve the history of them – in Portland.
Could all of this be true in Portland? Either way, I love the humor and style that Portlanders have.
Yesterday had to have been one of the most gorgeous days ever. I was only about a block away from my house when I urgently pulled the car over so I could get out to capture a few click, click, clicks of that sky. I couldn’t get enough of the beauty and decided to walk up to Mt. Tabor Park to take it all in. Each step I took from my doorstep to the top of Mt. Tabor was full of delight. I couldn’t get enough of that perfect blue sky, the sun shining through those white puffy clouds, the feeling of the crisp, fresh air on my cheeks, and the sounds of nature singing. It’s days like this that I want to capture the perfect image and perhaps place it in my hands and eat it all up! What an amazing experience it was for me to finally capture this new season in my new home. The entire time on my walk I kept thinking to myself, “Thank you, Universe! Thank you! What a truly gorgeous day it is!”
I had once been resistant to the thought of summertime coming to a screeching halt. I changed my mind after yesterday.
This photo got “Photo of the Week” via Portland’s Neighborhood online network: http://community.portlandneighborhood.com/profiles/blogs/portland-blog-this-week-in-23
Again, I am humbled.
Last night Kari and I decided to go for a brisk walk in our neighborhood. You see, the weather is turning here in Portland. We’ve decided to practice a Fall / Winter habit that no matter how cold it gets, no matter how rainy and wet it is outside that we’ll push ourselves out the front door for some fresh air and exercise. I think we did alright last night as we ended up at one of our favorite bars up the street for happy hour. We already feel like “Norrrrm” when we walk inside Vintage, because the bar owner always looks up and gives us a warm greeting and usually says, “What’ll it be tonight, ladies?”
Last night, the bar owner came over to our table to chat it up with us since we last paid him a visit. He immediately thanked me for posting this picture on his fb “Become a Fan” wall and said, “That’s a great picture by the way.” I quickly responded, “Well thank you. That was quite an experience tasting that flight of Scotch.”
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